This cherry frangipane tart bakes fresh cherries right into fluffy almond cream, all wrapped in a buttery French crust - no blind baking required!

This cherry frangipane tart is an amazing French classic treat. Fresh cherries are baked right into delicious almond cream surrounded by a sweet and buttery crust.

Cherries and almonds are a classic pairing in many European baked goods. They belong to the same botanical family and share similar flavor compounds making them a perfect match. 

Even if you don't like cherries, you may change your mind after having one bite of this tart. Trust me, cherries never tempted me until frangipane got involved. 

Never heard of frangipane? It's a simple almond-based filling that gets baked into pastries like almond croissants, Bakewell tarts, and classic French fruit tarts such as Tarte Bourdaloue. It's one of my favorite fruit tart fillings because it bakes up fluffy, moist, and wonderfully aromatic. You can learn more about it in my frangipane guide, or head straight to my frangipane recipe for full step-by-step details.

Ingredients You'll Need

• Confectioners sugar and granulated sugar: Confectioners' sugar produces a more tender, less crumbly crust than granulated sugar. Granulated sugar is used in the filling.
• Cake flour: Cake flour has less gluten than all purpose and therefore leads to a more tender crust. If you substitute with all purpose flour just be sure not to overmix the dough.
• Pinch of salt: Everything needs a pinch of salt. 
• Unsalted butter: Butter makes the dough soft and flavorful. It's also a key component of the frangipane filling.
• Eggs: Egg yolks enrich the dough and help bring it together without adding too much water which can activate gluten development. A whole egg is added to the filling to hold it together and give it a rise.
• Water: a small amount is needed to bring the dough together.
• Almond flour: Almond flour can be found at most grocery stores or you can grind your own almonds. You can also use almond meal which is also ground almonds but with a coarser texture and skin intact. 
• Corn starch: a small amount is added to the filling to help it bind and absorb moisture. It can be substituted with all purpose flour.
• Amaretto: This is completely optional to add flavor to the filling. You can also use Kirsch. 
• Cherries: This is the star of your tart! Bing and Rainier cherries work really well because they are sweet. 
• Apricot preserves: This is brushed onto the tart after it's finished to give it a shiny glaze and help preserve freshness. To read more about fruit tart glaze, you can read more details in my How to Glaze a Fruit Tart guide.

How to Pit Cherries Without a Cherry Pitter

Alton Brown once suggested on a Good Eats episode to use a star shaped pastry tip to hull strawberries. Works on strawberries, why not cherries? It took a few cherries and a few different size tips but I figured it out…

So beautiful and no cherry pitter required!

PRO TIP: To pit the cherry, a size 1M star shaped tip works like a charm. Insert the tip on top of the cherry stem. Push down and then pull up at a very slight angle. The pit and stem should come out all at once.

No Blind Baking Required

Many tart recipes call for blind baking (pre-baking the crust with weights before filling), but tarts with frangipane filling generally don't need this step. Almond cream isn't a wet filling like custards used in clafoutis or fresh fruit fillings, and the tart bakes long enough for the crust to cook through completely. In this recipe, you'll skip the pie weights, the parchment, and the extra 20 minutes - just fill the raw shell and bake once.

How to Make Cherry Frangipane Tart

Prepare your cherries by pitting them and cutting them in halves. I do not recommend cutting them smaller because then they will get covered by the filling after baking. I prefer to see them peeking through the filling. 

The tart crust uses a food processor method and comes together so quickly. It is the same base pâte sucrée recipe I have used in many of my tarts. It can be made up to a week in advance along with the frangipane filling. So you can break this down over several days if you are short on time. 

To make the pâte sucrée crust, combine the dry ingredients first in the food processor. Then add cubes of butter and pulse until they break down into pea sized pieces. Finally add the yolks and water and mix only until it clumps together. Bring it into a disc shaped ball and let it rest for at least 1 hour in the refrigerator before using.

To prepare the frangipane filling, mix the almond flour, sugar and butter with an electric mixer until it's light and fluffy. Incorporate the eggs, corn starch and liqueur until just combined.

Roll the dough out and lay it into a 9 inch tart pan or ring, trimming the edges. Prick the bottom of the dough all over with a fork. No need to blind bake, just spread the frangipane right into the raw shell.

Place your cherry halves throughout the tart cut side down and add sliced almonds along the edge if you wish. I place them cut side down because it makes for a more attractive tart.

There is no right amount of cherries. It is completely up to you. I started with about 12 cherries split in half because they were very large cherries. But if I were to make this again, I'd probably use more than what is shown in the photos and place them closer together so that every bite has some cherry in it. I have recommended more in the recipe card. 

Bake the tart for 30-35 minutes at 350℉ or until the tart has browned and the filling has set. You will see the frangipane puff up around the cherries. Let it cool completely. 

Heat the apricot preserves in a small pan until it is more fluid and brush the liquid over the entire tart. You can strain it first if there are large chunks in your preserves. 

Finishing and Decorating the Cherry Tart

I used sliced almonds to decorate the edge before baking. Heat the apricot preserves in a small pan until it is more fluid and brush the liquid over the entire tart. You can strain it first if there are large chunks in your preserves. 

Cut the tart and serve it alongside your favorite cup of tea or coffee. For a more indulgent dessert, add a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream to the side.

Storage and Make Ahead Tips

The tart should be served the day it is baked for optimum freshness. You can store leftover tart for a day or two in an airtight container in the refrigerator. I do not recommend freezing as the fresh fruit will not hold up well in the tart after it is thawed.

The tart dough can be stored in the refrigerator for up to one week or in the freezer for up to 1 month. It should be tightly wrapped in plastic. 

Frangipane can be made up to one week in advance and can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Let it come to room temperature before spreading and loosen it with a paddle attachment on your electric mixer. 

FAQ

• Do I need to blind bake the crust? Since this is a frangipane filling that needs to also bake, there is no need to blind bake.
• Can I use frozen cherries? You can use them but there is always a risk of some of their water leaking into the filling. To avoid this as much as possible, let the cherries thaw completely, then drain and dry any water by blotting with a paper towel.
• Can I use sweet or sour cherries? I recommend using sweet cherries but if you would like to use sour cherries, I would add more sugar to the filling.
• What size tart pan do I need? This recipe uses a 9 inch tart pan with a removable bottom or a 9 inch tart ring. 
• Can I make this ahead? You can make the components ahead of time but the tart should be baked the same day it is served. Refer to the storage section above. 
• What can I substitute for amaretto? You can use Kirsch which is a traditional liqueur used with cherry tarts or ¼ teaspoon of almond extract. You can also omit it completely.

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